Window operator



Aug. 3, 1943. E. c. HO RTON WINDOW OPERATOR 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR [RM/N .6: HOR7'0/V Filed June 30, 1941 w ATT RNEYS Aug. 3, 1943. E. c. HORTON WINDOW OPERATOR 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 50, 1941 .1017, Mumm- IIIfIIIIAIIllll-r! VII!!! all/Id ll lNVENT OR E/QJU/A/ CHO/QTO/V Patented Aug. 3, 1943 WINDOW OPERATOR Erwin C. Horton, Hamburg, N. Y., assignor to Trico Products Corporation, Buffalo, N. Y.

Application June 30, 1941, Serial No. 400,522

10 Claims.

from its motor whereby manual adjustment may be made whenever the occasion arises", such as when the source of power fails or when the motor otherwise becomes ineffective in response to the demands of the motorist. More particularly the invention aims to provide a simple and practical construction which is durable and efiicient and is composed of a minimum number of parts.

In the drawings Fig. 1 is a phantom view of anautomobile door showing the window thereof equipped with operating mechanism embodying the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary sectional view through the motor of the mechanism;

Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional view of a portion of the transmission between the motor and the window;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view about on line 44 of Fig. 3; and

Fig. 5 is a detailed sectional view about on line 5-5 of Fig. 3.

Referring more particularly to the drawings the numeral i designates a door of an automobile having a window glass panel 2 slidable vertically therein. Carried at the lower edge of the window panel is a bracket 3 formed with a groove or trackway i receiving a roller 5 on the work arm 6 of a bell crank lever which in turn is pivotally mounted on a shaft 1 projecting from a mounting plate 8, the companion or power arm 9' of the bell crank lever being pivotally connected to a piston rod ID of a fluid pressure motor. The opposite ends of the motor chamber ii are normally connected by conduits l2 and I3 through control valves l4 and 15 to a supply line It. Consequently, the motor piston is in a pressure balance and when either valve is opened the connected side of the chamber is vented to the atmosphere to disturb the balance and cause the motor to rock the lever one way or the other for opening or closing the window.

The motor piston comprises a section I! fixed to the piston rod I0 and a floating or relatively movable section 18 which is loosely connected to the fixed section, as by the brake shoes l9 and their expanding rollers 20 which are interposed between and cooperate with opposed camming faces 2|. The'arrangement is such that the piston will respond to fluid pressure action in either direction but any attempt to pry the window open will result in a transmission of such window imparted force in the nature of'a pull on the piston rod and also on the relatively fixed piston section ll. This pull will serve to wedge the roller apart and expand the brake shoes [9 outwardly against the chamber Wall to lock the piston against movement thereby to resist and frustrate the prying attempt. This piston construction is described more fully in an earlier application filed by me jointly with Anton Rappl on July 27, 1940, Serial No. 347,941.

It is therefore obvious that with a motor of the type described, should the motor go dead or fail to respond to the demand of the motorist the window could not be opened manually. The present invention contemplates the provision of means to free the window from the power drive should such an emergency arise.

A spring 22 is provided to counterbalance the weight of the window panel 2, the spring illustrated being of the convolute type having its inner end fixed to the stationary shaft 7 and its outer end anchored on a post 23 which is carried eccentrically on the lever so as to exert a lifting force on the window for closing the same.

According to the present invention this counterbalance spring is given an added function,

namely to reverse its action and lower the win dow from its fully closed position a sufiicient distance to enable'the upper edge of the window being grasped by the hand and pulled downwardly to a fully opened position. To this end. the bell crank lever arm 6 has an inner section 24 rigid with the motor arm 9 but pivotally connected to the outer section 25 of arm 6 by a pin 26. The spring post 23 is carried by the outer section 25 inwardly of the pivot 26 so that said arm section is normally under an urge tending to swing it in a clockwise direction about the pivot. This is normally prevented by a latchpin 21 which is slidable in the arm section 24 :for engaging in a recess 28 in the outer arm section. Thelatch pin is connected to a spring carrier plate 29 which is adapted to be depressed by a stem 30 in turn normally retracted by a spring 3| and provided with an actuating button 32.

Consequently when the button 32 is depressed be one or two inches or suil'iciently great to enable the motorist engaging his fingers over the upper edge of the window for pulling the window to a more fully opened position which will be permitted by the continued movement of the arm section 25 about its auxiliary pivot 26. This action will take place independently of any movement of the arm 9 which is held in its locked position, bythe self-locking piston con-' struction of the motor. To automatically reestablish the operative relationship of the outer arm section 25, the latter is provided with a beveled edge 34 up which the latch pin 21 will ride against the spring urge of the carrier plate 29 and into registry with the recess 28, this reconnection being efiected by either manually lifting the window to its fully closed position or by fluid operation of the piston to a position corresponding to that of the window.

The invention afiords a simplified construction in that a single spring serves in a dual capacity first to counterbalance the window normally and then to open the window in an emergency after the latter has been manually freed from its motor.

The foregoing description has been given in detail for a clear understanding of the present invention, but it is obvious that the inventive concept expressedtherein is capable of assuming other physical embodiments without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A window operating mechanism for an automobile window comprising a lever having a work arm connectible to the window and a power arm connectible to a motor, one arm comprising inner and outer sections pivotally con-.

nected together with means for locking the sections together to operate as a unit, a spring acting on the outer arm section to urge the lever to a window closing position and adapted upon disconnection of the arm sections to reverse the urge on the outer section toward a window opening position, and means for rendering the looking means inoperative.

2. A window operator comprising a lever having one arm connectible to a window. and the companion arm connectible to a motor for being rocked thereby to open and close the window, a counterbalance member for the lever normally acting to move the lever toward a window closed position, and means coacting with said counterbalance member for reversing the effectiveness of the counterbalance member on the window end of the first arm to open the window from its closed position.

3. A window operator comprising a lever having one arm connectible to a window and the companion arm connectible to a motor for being rocked thereby to open and close the window, a counterbalance means for the lever normally acting to move the lever toward a window closed position, said lever having an independently movable pivotally mounted section to which the counterbalance means is connected to impart independent movement to such section only for opening the window, and means detachably holding such section against such independent movement whereby said counterbalance means will impart a window closing urge to the lever as a whole.

4. A window operator comprising a lever having a work arm connectible to a window and a power arm connectible to a motor for being rocked thereby to open and close the window, a counterbalance member for the lever normally acting to move the lever toward a window closed position, said work arm comprising inner and outer sections pivotally connected together for relative movement, one section overlapping the other and having a recess, a latch carried by said other section for engagement in the recess, and said counterbalance member being connected to the outer section at the inner side of the pivot whereby upon disconnection of the sections the outer section will be urged about its pivot to move the outer end of the work arm in the opposite direction to open a connected window.

5. A window operator comprising a lever having a work arm connectible to a window and a power arm connectible to a motor for being rocked thereby to open and close .the window, a counterbalance member for the lever normally acting to move the lever toward a window closed position, said work arm comprising inner and outer sections pivotally connected together for independent movement, the outer section overlapping the inner section, means operable to conneot the sections against relative movement whereby all parts of the lever will move as a unit, said counterbalance member being connected to the inner end of the outer section whereby upon disconnection of the sections the outer section will be urged in the opposite direction about its pivot to open a connected window, and means for rendering the connecting means inoperative.

6. A window operator comprising a lever having a work arm connectible at its outer end to a window and a power arm connectible to a motor for being rocked thereby to open and close the window, acounterbalance member for the lever normally acting to move the lever toward a window closed position, said work arm comprising inner and outer sections pivotally connected together for relative movement, one section overlapping the other section and having a recess, a spring pressed latch carried by said other section for engagement in the recess to lock the sections together for movement as a unit, and said counterbalance member being connected to the outer section at the inner side of the pivot whereby upon disconnection of the sections the outer section will be urged in the opposite direction to open a'connected window, an edge of said one section being beveled to provide an approach up which the latch may ride for reengaging the recess.

7. A window operator comprising a motor, means operable by the motor for moving a window upwardly to a closed position, said means including separable parts for freeing the window from the motor, counterbalance means for the window acting upon said first means to support the window against lowering by gravity, and means associated with said first means and operable to disconnect said parts and thereby position the counterbalance means for reversing the effectiveness of said counterbalance means on the window to open the window from a closed position independently of said motor.

8. A window operator comprising a lever connectible at one end to a window and at its opposite end to an actuator, the work arm of the lever having an inner section and an outer section, the latter being pivoted between its ends on the inner section, means normally but detachably securing the two sections together for movement as a unit, and a counterbalance spring connected to the inner end of the outer section and normally urging the lever in a direction of rotation tending to close the window and urging the outer section in the opposite direction tending to open the window when the sections are disconnected.

9. A window operator comprising a lever connectible at one end to a Window and at its opposite end to an actuator, the work arm of the lever having an inner section and an outer section, the latter being pivoted between its ends on the inner section, means normally but detachably securing the two sections together for movement as a unit, and a convolute spring mounted on the axis of the lever mountingand having its inner end fixed, the outer end of the spring being connected to the inner end of the outer section to urge the latter about its pivot when the sections are disconnected and to urge the lever about its mounting when the sections are connected.

10. A window operator comprising a lever connectible at one end to a window and at its op posite end to an actuator, the work arm of the lever having an inner section and an outer section, the latter being pivoted between its ends on the inner section, a spring projected latch member carried by the inner section and detachably connecting the two Sections as a unit, and means arranged adjacent the lever mounting for retracting the latch member to disconnect the connections, and a counterbalance spring of convolute form anchored at its inner end and connected at its outer end to the inner end of the outer section to function in its primary capacity when the sections are connected and in asecondary capacity to pivot the outer section alone when the sections are disconnected.

ERWIN c. HORTON. 

